Lil' Casanova makes his move...

I took Brooklyn swimming yesterday. She's learned a new move we call "the hammer." She holds her hands together, raises them above her head and very quickly slams her hands into the water and the water goes flying. Her face lights up as she awaits your reaction. She has become very talented at splashing not only me and her, but other kids as well, but most of them didn't seem to mind.

As we made it to the edge of the pool - where she loves to hold on and hang kicking her legs, talking, all the while trying to get a taste of the chlorine water - a little boy approaches us. Brooklyn being very fond of other kids, always wanting to get her hands on them reaches out for this little boy. He gets excited and reaches out for her too, but instead of touching her arm or hand, he grabs her face. Now, this isn't a mean grab, but a very delicate one - one that you only see in movies before a big kiss. My immediate reaction was to pull Brooklyn back a little. I don't want this boy making a move on my lil' girl! He looks at me and says "This is the most beautiful baby girl I have ever seen!" I say "Thank you" but I immediately begin looking around for his father, mother, someone that is watching him. I finally see a man that is watching the kids' interaction, nodding and smiling. Soon, the little boy's friend comes and sweeps him off to go dive for quarters on another end of the pool. The man comes over to me and says "I'm just his Grandad. I had no idea that he loved babies this much!" I'm thinking, great, what am I going to do if this 5 year-old boy tries to kiss her again!?!

Brooklyn and I head to the very shallow (1 foot) part of the pool where she can play with this red steering wheel that is low enough for her to be able to hold onto and stand up in the pool like a big girl. Before long, I feel a touch on my arm, and Lil' Casanova is back and this time he is calling himself "her boyfriend." He goes for her face again. She gets excited, starts squealing and moving her head toward his. She does this when she gets excited, and she loves to chew on your shoulder, face, neck whatever she can get in her mouth. But, I can see the look in his eyes, and he thinks she wants a kiss so he puckers up. I pull her back and say, "No kissing!" She then notices that he is wearing a pair of goggles on his head, and she reaches for him again, and it starts all over. Finally his friend comes to get him again, and Lil' Casanova tries to get his friend interested in the baby, but his friend just wants to go dive for quarters, so they take off. Finally, the lifeguards blow the whistle signalling time for adult swim, so we get out, get dried off and head to the locker room.

On the way home, I call Daddy and tell him the story. His response: "I don't want to hear that! She's too young to be having boyfriends and to start kissing." I couldn't agree more!

A special time

"What do you want for your birthday?"
"Clothes."
"When do you want to go shopping?"
"Monday works for me. How about you?"
"That should work, but in the afternoon. Or, I could just give you money to go out and get what you want yourself."
"I'd rather you go with me."
"Okay. Maybe we could grab a bite of dinner afterward."
"Sounds like a plan!"

This is an exchange that I have with my Grandma almost every year around my birthday. She is a big believer in taking people out and letting them choose what they would like for birthdays, Christmas and anniversaries. It does make sense, because then you aren't stuck digging for a receipt, having to stand in line to return the item and pick something new out. But, it's always been more than that to me. We've been going shopping for my birthday since I was three years old, and even though the dynamics have changed, I have always seen it as a special time to spend with my Grandma.

This used to be a whole day event - usually on a Saturday - including eating lunch in the midst of shopping, eating dinner afterward at TrailDust and ending the day by going home and showing Mom and Dad what I got. When I was a pre-teen and even a teen, we would hit Westminster Mall (which used to be super-cool!) look around the entire mall before decididng to go to stores such as 5-7-9, Express, Joslins Juniors, etc. I would load Grandma's arms up with so many clothes that it took over an hour to try everything on and decide what looked good and what didn't. There was always a "Maybe" pile, a "No" pile and a "Definitely Yes" pile. Grandma was always good at making sure to ask "Now are you sure that you are going to wear this?" or "Do you have something to wear this with?" I remember getting a couple shirts where I said, "Oh yeah sure I will wear this all the time with such and such" but I never did, I just had to have them.

How times have changed! This year when we went shopping, Brooklyn was hanging in her stroller making the very cool new sound she just learned "DaDaDaDaDa," I knew exactly where I wanted to go and instead of loading Grandma's arms up with my selection to try on, I used the stroller. We spent less than a half-hour in the dressing room trying on the same amount of clothes that I always tried on. Grandma kept telling me that I didn't have to go so fast and to slow down. But, as any mom knows, trying on clothes with a baby that is almost ready to nurse, doesn't really work, especially if you take your time. And, I'm not a mom that will let my kiddo cry and cry while I'm selfishly trying on clothes. It worked. I picked out a selection of clothes that I liked, we made the three separate piles of yes, no and maybe and Brooklyn was satisfied playing with her keys and her baby cloth Bible. After all the shopping the three of us sat down and had a nice dinner, and then headed home to show Kevin what I picked out.

The dynamics and the amount of time we spend might have changed, but I wouldn't trade this time with my Grandma for the world. And, some might say that it's because she's buying me clothes that I want to spend time with her, but it's really not. I would spend time with my Grandma even if we were just hanging out at my house or hers.

On her way to Yale

"A told B and B told C, I'll beat you to the top of the coconut tree. Whee said D to E, F, G, I'll beat you to the top of the coconut tree. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom..."

As we lay on our bed, and I began to read one of Brooklyn's favorite books, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, she begins to kick her legs, move her arms up and down and make a soft squealing noise. Within a few seconds, a smile lights up her face and melts my heart. Reading is a big part of her bedtime routine. After she is snug in her feety pajamas, the three of us lay down, or on occasion we sit up, and read several books. We always pick something new and fresh to start off with, and of course there are books like Chicka Chicka Boom Boom that we read more often because they're fun and she really enjoys them, but we always end with two stories: Wynken, Blynken and Nod and Baby's Bedtime. By the time the words "Wynken, Blynken and Nod one night sailed off in a wooden shoe. Sailed on a river of crystal light into a sea of dew..." roll off Daddy's tongue, she starts yawning and her once flalling arms and legs are still, but she's still excited to go on the nighttime journey to sleepyland with Wynken, Blynken and Nod.

Many reports and books about infant development say that long before your baby is ready to hold a book, they'll start learning about reading and language through their relationship with you. Talking and reading to your infant or toddler provides the building blocks they'll need to develop language and reading skills of their own. There has been many debates on when to start reading to your baby. Some have said to start when they are newborns because a baby will be picking up on the rhythm of language -- rather than the content -- as he hears you speak. Others have suggested starting at six months because a baby will be more interested in touching, looking at the bright pictures and will get more out of it.

In the long run, reading helps build your child's vocabulary, stimulate her imagination, and improve her communication skills. Studies have shown that language skills -- and even intelligence -- can depend on an infant's daily exposure to a large vocabulary. In one such study, babies who heard an average of 2,100 words an hour scored higher on standard tests when they reached age 3 than did children whose parents hadn't been as verbal.

We've been reading to Brooklyn since she was a few weeks old, and we talk to her all the time - starting the first second she was born. We hope that all we are doing is helping her develop into an itelligent woman who will achieve anything her heart desires. After all, I told her when we were at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock during our vacation, that she can be the first female president if she wanted to be.

As if almost a concidence about a month ago, she received an invitation from Yale University (where US President have graduated from) inviting her to meet with an admissions counselor who was going to be in the neighborhood. On Monday, she got a viewbook from Yale providing her with an overview, history and admission information of the prestigious Ivy League university. My first reaction was "Do they realize she's only 6 months old?" My husband joked that they sent it to let us, her parents, because we need 18 years to save that amount of money - which is almost the same as what we paid for our home! Regardless, it was fun sitting on the family room floor going page by page reading and looking through the viewbook with Brooklyn. She seemed excited as she hit and talked to the pages. Who knows, maybe this is a sign that she'll be going to Yale in 18 years!

Can't we just transport her room?

We're about to embark on a journey, and we'll be adding a new first to Brooklyn's list. We will be flying the friendly skies heading down south to Arkansas for a week and we're very excited. We got all the plans in place for who will take us to the airport, who will watch our house and who will puppysit our beagle. I talked to our friends last night who we will be visiting and we have a couple tentative plans in place as to what our days will look like. Sounds like everything is all in place, right? WRONG!

We still have to finish our packing. Let me just say that I make a list of what to bring and then check them off as I packed them. A little obsessive some might say, but it has worked and I never left anything essential behind. When we went to Hawaii last year, we had everything we needed, even an extra set of clothes if our bags got lost - which mine did. Packing for Kevin and I is a cinch. But, let me just say that packing for Brooklyn has added a new challenge for me. How do you pack all her toys, her books, her CDs, her clothes & shoes, blankets, stuffed animals and exersaucer? Simple answer: You can't.

You have to make choices and decisions. And, since she's not old enough to say "Mommy, can I bring Glow Pooh Bear?" I have to make that choice for her, so I have been watching the past few weeks the toys that make her the happiest. But, in the back of my mind, I keep asking myself "Will this toy fit on the airplane or in the suitcase okay without taking up too much room?" Sad? Yes. Her books I have covered: get her favorite ones (ones that we read to her nightly) along with a selection of others. Her clothes: this little girl has so many clothes (thanks Grammy!) so it was pretty easy to figure out what to bring. If an outsider was watching though as I did this, they might have laughed. I put her to bed and then snuck in there with a flashlight in hand to select those favorite outfits and loaded Kevin's arms up with them. We brought the selected into our room and took them off the hanger. There were a few extra shirts (5 or 6) that we had to make decisions on. I held two out at a time and had Kevin pick his favorite, sometimes I wouldn't agree and we would go with my choice!

As I was talking to my friend last night, she reminded me that she has toys, books, high chair, crib, extra girl clothes, and a washer and a dryer - after all she does have two kids! So, if all else fails, we'll have back-up. But, just for my sake, I'm starting to make that list. Let's just hope I don't forget my curling iron in the freezer like I did on our honeymoon!

The Word for sale...only $4.99

I am still working on what to think about the apparently growing popularity of commercializing christianity. First it was TV and radio "evangelists" seeking money donations in exchange for audio tapes, books, and other "gifts." Now it's Jesus is my homeboy t-shirts and I saw a button that matched this graphic above during my lunch hour today. Over the weekend, I saw a Jesus action figure in a game store. And, I have seen a website that allows you to "dress Jesus up" as a clown, a German solider, Darth Vader, Oscar the Grouch pretending to be part of the KKK, TinkyWinky from Teletubbies. This website claims that "Now you can finally crucify some of the most hated villians of our time. Simply drag the items to Him with your mouse and they'll snap into place. Then you'll have your favorite bad guy crucified, print him out and display him anywhere as a reminder that even the worst sins of man are forgiven...thanks to Jesus."

The commercializing of Christianity is an enormous problem today, as blatantly evidenced by the numerous items for sale. Jesus tried to remedy the commercializing of religion by driving the merchants and money-changers from the temple. Quite frankly, I find it objectionable that modern Christianity has become so overrun by commercial hucksters who feel they have the right to convert the sharing of God's word into nothing more than another worldly business venture.

In my view, to put a price on the word of God is to say that the only ones who are worthy of hearing it are those who are willing to pay for it. This is in direct contradiction to the whole Spirit of the Bible. This is NOT the method which Jesus and His followers practiced. It is simply a matter of greed, trying to make a profit from the word of God.

You made me sick!!

It's the only place I know that you go in feeling good and leave feeling bad. It's the doctor's office. Brooklyn had her 6-month check-up a couple days ago. She went in being her usual happy self, except for a few fussy moments here and there. We learned that she is progressing beautifully in both her weight/height/head circumference and developmental skills. The doctor was quite impressed that she can pull herself up to a standing position! We listed our concerns/questions and the doctor answered them - we have such an amazingly caring doctor - and gave us the run down on what solid foods we should start trying and when. Then, the doctor said her goodbyes and wished us all well, but before heading out the door, she turned around and said, "I'll send it the nurse to administer the shots."

Okay, we knew they were coming. In fact, we were told at her 4-month check-up to give her Infant Tylenol BEFORE coming to the appointment, which we did. The nurse comes in with the needles and shot solution and asks me to lay Brooklyn down on the table. I was all prepared to hold her in my lap as I was already sitting on the examining table. But, the nurse was insistent on having her lay down on the table. Brooklyn, with Pappy (her pacifier) in her mouth, lay on the table and her eyes were getting bigger and bigger by the second. I was holding one hand and Daddy was holding the other when the first needle was shoved into her little thigh. She looked up at us in shock, and within a few seconds she started crying. Two more pricks, and she was done. The nurse quickly washed her hands, and told us to watch her temperature and dose her accordingly with Tylenol, and then she rushed out of the room leaving us with our poor, upset baby. We got her calmed down, dressed and heading out of the room ourselves.

She fell asleep on the ride home. When she awoke, she was okay, very playful. We had dinner, went for a little walk and watered our flowers - that's when she started whimpering with her eyes half open and her little lips and checks all red. I brought her in the house and took her temperature - 101.4! I carefully changed her into her PJs and we read some books. The whole time she was whimpering, not crying, but whimpering. She kept trying to crack a smile for us, but it was just more than she could handle. And, let me say this, I would much rather have her cry than whimper, it's such a sad noise and look that comes across her face. With crying, we've gotten pretty good at distinguishing the hungry cry from the tired cry, but with whimpering, you just know that she isn't feeling good. She wasn't hungry, she really wasn't into her bedtime stories, she just simply wanted to be held. After a couple hours of rocking her in the chair, we laid her down for the night half expecting her to be up. (We were deciding which one of us wanted to sleep in the chair with her.) She slept through the night only waking when Pappy fell out of her mouth, but over the monitor, you could hear a moan every time she breathed.

It's been a couple days now. This morning she was whimpering a little, but after a couple rounds of Peek-A-Boo, she turned that whimpering into laughing. There is nothing better than hearing her laugh. I'm just glad that we don't have to take her to the doctor's office until she's a year-old!

Welcome to the world, Brooke!

Welcome to the world, Brooke Kailah!

My best friend Jessica gave birth to her second child, Brooke Kailah June 9 at 4:26pm. Brooke is pretty tiny weighing at 6 lbs, 2 oz and 19 inches long. She has a full head of blonde hair and blue eyes. Isn't she precious!?!

Jessica and her husband, Todd along with their 3 1/2 year old son Landon moved from Colorado to Little Rock, Arkansas December 2004. Jessica and I have been friends since sixth grade. We miss them so much since they have moved, but we're going out to see them in a few weeks and we'll get to meet their new little bundle of joy!

Landon and Brooke

Todd and Brooke

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW FAMILY!